Mad World
by breadmakesyoufat
Summary: "Monkey quickly shoved Trip behind him, gruffly ordering her to go hide while he drew them off. He managed to take three of them out and was working on the fourth when Trip screamed for him, her hiding place having been discovered."
1. Chapter 1

Hello fellow Enslaved fans! I played this game a year or so ago, and loved it entirely. I started it over again a few days ago, then came here to find some fanfiction about Monkey and Trip, only to find there isn't a lot of Enslaved fanfiction on this site! Makes sense, since the game is severely underrated, but still. So, here I am, writing some of my own stuff to make my shipper heart calm down a bit. This will probably be 2-3 chapters long, since I intended for it to be a one-shot, but it got out of hand quickly and way, way too long, so I've decided to split it up. Hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think. :)

* * *

He hadn't felt fear like this since he was a child, spending his first night out in the wild on his own, orphaned just hours before by a mech attack. Every little sound had made him cower and shiver in the cold night air, the world suddenly feeling cruel and harsh without the warmth and security of his family. After surviving that first night alone, Monkey worked hard to become the warrior that he is today, replacing fear with a keen sense of survival, and keeping himself unattached and distant from everyone, to avoid weakness.

When he heard her scream, both out loud and in his head, Monkey felt intense fear shoot through his veins for the first time in years. He'd been scared for his life before, of course, but he'd also accepted a long time ago that his life was almost constantly at risk, and life is fragile in this world, and fear is how you get yourself killed. But Trip...her life was precious to him. Not just because his life was tied to hers, literally, thanks to the slave headband she'd put on him when they first met, but because she still had a young naiveness to her that he found valuable. Most people on this planet had given up on enjoying life, just working to survive another day, without any real purpose. Trip had given him a purpose, and she brought a light back into his life that he hadn't seen or felt since his parents had been killed. He's never expressed any of this to her, instead complaining about the headband and getting frustrated or mad at her when she did something to put him at risk, or worse, her own safety. But the longer they spent together, the more he found himself smiling, and watching her as she stopped to pick flowers, or got excited about seeing wildlife on their journey. He hadn't noticed exactly when it had changed inside him, but keeping her alive had shifted from his regard for his own survival, to making sure she wasn't hurt.

They'd been searching for a place to set up camp for the night when they were ambushed by some mechs. Despite Trip sending out her Dragonfly to help navigate the heavily forested area, the mechs still appeared to come out of thin air. Monkey had quickly shoved Trip behind him, gruffly ordering her to go hide while he drew them off. He managed to take three of them out and was working on the fourth when Trip screamed for him, her hiding place having been discovered.

Monkey hadn't felt true fear in so long that it momentarily paralyzed him, allowing the mech he was fighting to get a hit in. Monkey fell to one knee, his body shaking from the stunning shock of the mech's punch, and Trip screamed again, calling his name with such raw terror that his blood chilled in his veins. Roaring, he swung his staff up at the mech hovering over him, knocking its head clean off and causing it to collapse in a heap of metal and sparks.

Monkey was on his feet and searching the area before the mech even hit the ground, looking desperately for his traveling companion. Using his headband for guidance, he located her signal. She was a ways off, too far away for him to be reassured, her heart rate pumping out of her chest...but alive.

"I'm coming Trip!" he yelled, taking off in her direction. He passed a stunned mech on his way to her, quickly bashing its head off without slowing his pace. _'She's already used her EMP'_ he thought, hoping it would last until he got to her.

"Monkey! Hurry!"

He was getting close now, but the frantic tone of her voice told him her EMP was wearing off. He pushed himself to run faster, vaulting over fallen stone pillars and other wreckage blocking his path. "I'm coming Trip! Just hold on!"

Rounding a corner, his eyes locked onto Trip, a wave of relief washing over him. It was short lived, however, once he saw the situation she was in.

She was kneeling behind a car, her leg underneath the sharp metal of the vehicle. As he ran for her, Monkey took note of the blood staining the earth beneath her with a sinking feeling in his chest. Trip was struggling to get herself free, a look of frustration and fear on her face as she tugged at her leg in vain.

He called out to her and her head whipped around to the sound of his voice. The look of relief that broke out across her face at the sight of him made his stomach knot up. "Monkey, help me!" she yelled, pointing frantically to her far side, where he couldn't quite see what she was pointing at beside her. He was closing in fast, and was mere steps away from her when a shadow fell across her small frame.

Her eyes grew wide as her EMP wore off, a mech which had been frozen right beside her coming back to life. It reached down towards her and she screamed louder than he'd ever heard her scream, but Monkey had finally gotten to her. Using the car hood as a stepping stone, he leap over her and launched himself headfirst into the mech, causing them both to crash down in a heap and tumble away from Trip. Vaguely, he could hear Trip frantically calling his name, but Monkey was seeing red. This mech was going to pay for putting Trip's life at risk.

Roaring like a primal beast, Monkey grabbed the mech's head in both hands, paying no mind to the machine's claws digging into his side, and ripped its head clean off, oil and parts erupting from its corpse as it sunk back to the ground.

Monkey took a moment to breathe, the red receding from his vision as he tossed the mech's head aside. Trip called out to him then, fully bringing him back to the surface. Grimacing, Monkey carefully pulled the mech's claws from his side, groaning in pain and holding a hand over the wound, blood slowly seeping through his fingers.

He stumbled to his feet, turning to look at Trip. She had blood and oil streaking her face and clothes, a look of frailty and fear written all over her form. Tears were pooling in her eyes, and one fell down her cheek when she blinked, looking back up at him. His heart ached, seeing her so beaten up. He walked over to her, stumbling on unsteady feet as he struggled to keep pressure on his wound.

Trip was silently crying harder now, and reached up to him with both arms when he got closer. Monkey stumbled to his knees, his eyes closing in pain and landing close enough to her that she could touch him. She sniffled softly and reached out, grabbing one of his shoulders and using her other hand to cup the side of his face gently. Monkey leaned into her palm before opening his eyes, and their eyes met. His heart ached anew at the look she was giving him now, and he wanted nothing more then to pick her up and hold him in her arms tightly.

"Monkey, I am so sorry." she whispered, another tear falling. Her eyes left his face to inspect the gashes at his side, her brows furrowing with guilt. Monkey was still breathing heavily, the wound in his side deeper than he'd originally thought. He watched her face as she moved her hand from his cheek to wipe her eyes, her other hand still resting on his shoulder. "I was hiding, and this mech came out of nowhere." Trip went on, avoiding his eyes. "It shoved the car I was hiding behind, trapping my leg…" Her voice trailer off, her eyes moving to look at the bloody pool surrounding her leg. "I managed to stun it when it came after me, but…" her eyes trailed back up to Monkey's face. "Monkey, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. And now you're badly hurt and I'm stuck…"

"Trip." Monkey's voice came out soft. Softer then she expected it would, and it almost worried her more. She looked at him as he reached down, placing a hand on her shoulder gently, dwarfing it with the massive size of his palm. "You're live. I'm alive. It's going to be okay." His voice was little more than a whisper, but the look on his face made her heart stutter in her chest. How a man like Monkey can express so much relief in one look was beyond her, but she gave him a small smile and nodded.

Groaning, Monkey stood then, Trip's hands falling to her lap as he rose out of her reach. She watched as he walked around to her other side, kneeling down to examine her trapped limb. Trip watched his expression, but Monkey was careful not to openly show how bad he thought the damage was. Placing both hands under the car's frame and bending his knees, Monkey looked at Trip. "I'm going to life this for as long as I can, but you need to pull yourself out from underneath quickly. Alright?" His voice was low and focused, but Trip could see that pain his side was causing him.

"Monkey, you're going to make your wound-" she started, but he cut her off.

"I need to get this off of you. It's not safe here, and I can't defend you out in the open like this. Especially if you can't run away and I'm in this condition. You need to get fixed up more than I do, Trip." he said solidly, but gently, trying not to make her feel any worse. Trip opened her mouth to protest again, but Monkey put his hand back on her shoulder gently, silencing her. "Just let me get you out of here, and we'll find someplace safe to rest."

They gave each other a look before Trip sighed, nodding. "Okay, do it."

Monkey nodded and braced himself. "One, two, _three_!" He groaned as his muscled contracted, pushing all his remaining energy into his legs and arms. the car slowly lifted off the ground, and Trip tried to muddle a cry as it pulled from her leg. Monkey's face contorted with pain as he held it up, his stomach wound throbbing and blood soaking the waist of his pants.

Trip used her arms and good leg to scoot out from under the car, calling to Monkey once she was clear. With another groan of pain, Monkey stepped back and let the car fall back to the ground with a crash. He stood for a moment, rolling his shoulders and catching his breath before the sound of Trip's uneven breathing caught his attention. Turning, he took one long step and kneeled down beside her, assessing her condition.

Her leg had stopped bleeding, mostly, but judging by the size of the puddle under the car, she's lost quite a bit of blood already. The wound itself didn't look so good. Her pants were torn just below her knee, showing off a deep gash in her calf, dried blood surrounding the wound. Monkey tried to contain the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he gently pulled away a piece of her ripped pants to get a better look. Overall, it didn't look that serious. But the jagged metal of the car that had caused it was hundreds of years old, sitting out in the elements and rusting...the chances of her wound getting infected was much higher than he liked.

"Monkey…" Looking up, he saw Trip looking at him with worried eyes. "Monkey, we need to do something about your wound. It's still bleeding." Monkey felt a small smile come to his lips. Of course she'd worry more about him than her own wounds. His smile quickly deteriorated when he heard the distant cry of more mechs. Trip's scared eyes searched the surrounding ruins, both hands clutching the knee of her wounded leg. Monkey stood up as quickly as he could, putting his hand out to her.

"C'mon, it's not safe here. Can you walk?"

Trip shook her head slightly. "I don't know…" She took his firmly in both of hers and let him pull her to her feet, both of them groaning in discomfort. Trip put some weight on her bad leg, but quickly pulled it back up with a small cry, leaning on Monkey. "I-...I can't. Monkey…"

Without a word, Monkey turned around and helped her onto his back. She doesn't weigh much, but the extra weight did make him cringe slightly as his side throbbed. Trip's arms came up and wrapped around his neck loosely, her mouth right by his ear. "Monkey, your stomach…"

"It's fine. Can you find us somewhere safe? Quickly." Trip bit her lip and nodded, taking the Dragonfly from her ear and releasing it into the air. Within a few minutes it had located the mechs that were closing in on them, and where they could go to find some shelter.

"There's a building not far from here with an enclosed room, mostly underground with the exception of an opening on the west wall. If we can get to it and find something to block the entrance with, it'd be perfect." Trip said calmly, her panic subsiding slightly at the prospect of sanctuary for the night.

Monkey was already jogging in the direction of their camp, trying to focus on his breathing and go at a pace he can maintain.


	2. Chapter 2

_"There's a building not far from here with an enclosed room, mostly underground with the exception of an opening on the west wall. If we can get to it and find something to block the entrance with, it'd be perfect." Trip said calmly, her panic subsiding slightly at the prospect of sanctuary for the night._

_Monkey was already jogging in the direction of their camp, trying to focus on his breathing and go at a pace he can maintain._

* * *

"The Dragonfly isn't picking up any mech activity in the area, or within the building itself." She tapped the screen in front of her a few more times, her eyes darting from side to side. "At our current speed, we should reach our location in roughly ten minutes, and stay far ahead of the mechs following us now."

After mapping the safest and quickest route for Monkey through his headband, Trip closed her wrist console and returned both her hands to Monkey's shoulders, giving them a little squeeze.

"Monkey." she said softly, taking note of how winded he was sounding, and wishing she could help him more. Monkey turned his head slightly towards her voice, but remained silent, indicating that he was listening. Trip hesitated, biting her lip. She sighed after a few moments, moving so she could rest her head on his back. "It's nothing, never mind." Trip felt Monkey's grip on her legs tighten slightly, but he didn't push her and just continued to jog.

By the time they reached their hideout it was dark out, tiny stars glittering the sky. Trip found herself looking up a lot, and maybe it was just the blood loss talking, but she found herself thinking this was the most beautiful night sky she'd seen in weeks. She was brought back down to earth abruptly when Monkey stopped just a few meters from the building entrance, swaying slightly, before collapsing face first into the mossy ground beneath him. Trip fell with him, her wounded leg hitting the ground first, causing her to cry out in pain. She recovered quickly and crawled off Monkey's back, kneeling down beside him and placing both hands on his arm.

"Monkey? Monkey!" she said a little frantically, shaking his giant arm. Glancing down at his side, she grimaced, seeing the damage their run had caused him, and realizing he'd probably lost more blood than he would have if she'd walked on her own.

"Stupid! Why didn't you say something!" she whispered angrily, giving his arm a shove. Looking over, she could see the entrance to their 'safehouse' for the night. With a sigh, she gazed back down at the 200+ pounds of hardened, unmoving muscle. "How the hell am I going to-"

Just then she heard the mech call coming from the direction they'd come from, sending a chill through her. They were catching up with them quickly. Quicker then she'd calculated they would.

Trip resumed her shoves and calls to Monkey, desperately trying to wake him up. They were so close, but he's much too heavy for her to lift on her own, and she can't leave him out here when those mechs spot them. "Monkey! Monkey wake up! Dammit Monkey come ON!" she yelled, kneeling down to het her mouth right by his ear.

The mechs were getting louder, causing Trip's heart to race as she punched and shoved and yelled at him, all to no avail. It wasn't until she saw a pair of red eyes peek out from the bushes in the distance that she decided to use her last resort.

"I'm so sorry Monkey" she whispered with a lump in her throat, leaning down and placing a gentle kiss in his hair. "Command: wake up." she whispered, her heart breaking over the pain she knew it would cause him, but hoping it would save them both.

Monkey's headband exploded to life, flashing a bright red light and sending a jolt through his brain. Monkey's eyes flew open and he sprung to his feet, both hands clutching his head, his face contorted with pain. Trip quickly stood up beside him, taking note of the three mechs emerging from the shadows a few city blocks away. She grabbed one of his arms, trying to pull him towards shelter, but he shoved her off.

"What the-…._hell_, Trip!? he yelled, squinting at her through the pain.

"Monkey, come on, it's not safe!" she yelled back at him, pulling insistently on his arm again. He stumbled towards her, still clutching his head but allowing her to pull him forward.

They reached the small entrance, Trip nearly shoving Monkey down into the gap in the broken wall, and quickly kneeling and climbing in after him. It was entirely black in the room, seeing as it was mostly buried, save for the red light of Monkey's headband, which put a knot in her stomach.

Thinking quickly, Trip released her Dragonfly into the room, letting it provide some light as it flew in small circles. Trip immediately began looking for something to block the entrance with, and her eyes landed on some large cabinets and a couch. Running over to them, she tried to push one of the cabinets over, but it would barely move. Her leg screaming at her for working the wounded muscles, she ran to the couch and tried to push that with more success. Pushing hard, she managed to get the couch over to the entrance, blocking off the lower half of it. Just as she got the furniture into place, a mech reached the entrance, reaching in and swiping its claw at her with a screeching cry. Trip screamed and stumbled back, the mech's claw flying over her head as she tumbled to the ground, her heart beating out of her chest. The couch was stopping the mech from getting in, but it wasn't going to hold. Trip ran back over to the cabinets, trying to move it over to the entrance, but her feet slid across the ground as she tried to push it, and her wounded leg throbbed the harder she pushed it.

Monkey, finally getting his senses back as the slave headband went back to sleep, saw her struggling and limped over to her, putting himself beside her behind the cabinet. Trip glanced over at him, but he was looking straight ahead at the mech trying to get in, a frown on his face. She followed his gaze and breathed in deep before putting all her energy into pushing the cabinet, Monkey doing the same. With a loud groan, the cabinet unstuck from its place on the floor and they pushed it over to the entrance. The mech was still waving its claw around, trying to find something to grab onto. Pushing with all their might, Monkey and Trip managed to get the cabinet over to where the couch was, and Monkey lifted it onto the couch with a roar, the cabinet pushing the mech's arm back out the hole in the wall and effectively blocking the entrance. A mechanical scream came from outside, followed by a few tremors as some of the mechs tried to break a new hole in the wall and beat the cabinet back into the room, but within a few minutes without success, silence fell over the area.

Trip let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding and looked over at Monkey. He was leaning heavily against the wall farthest from the entrance, firmly holding one of his giant hands to his side and breathing loudly. She walked over to him slowly, limping slightly, the Dragonfly hovering over them to provide some light. "Monkey" she said quietly when she was within reach of him, stopping her approach.

Monkey looked up at her, still breathing heavily. They looked at each other for a few long moments in silence before Trip took a few more slow steps towards him and reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly and pressing her body to his. A muffled sob escaped her lips as she clung to him. Monkey didn't move right away, a look of shock on his face, but after a second of two he took his hand from his side and gently wrapped both his arms around her small form, pulling her closer to his body. She was shaking slightly, her breathing becoming irregular and she tried to calm herself down. Her head was resting on his chest, and he could feel some of her tears on his skin. His heart was heavy in his chest, and he gently rubbed her back with one massive hand, trying to soothe her but not really knowing how.

They stayed like that for while, holding each other in the light of the Dragonfly until Trip's sobs subsided and her breathing came down to normal again. Slowly, she pulled away from him, and Monkey found himself wishing he could hold her longer. She didn't move away from him, but instead stayed close enough that she could rest her hands on his arms, and he kept his hands on her waist. "Monkey…" she started, looking up into his eyes. Her eyes were still puffy from crying, and there were tear marks running through the dirt and blood on her face. "Monkey, I feel awful. I'm so sorry I used that headband to cause you pain." she whispered, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Monkey's grip on her waist tightened slightly, and he brought one hand up to try and wipe some of the marks from her face gently. Trip's eyes closed when his hand touched her face, and she leaned into his touch slightly, making his breath hitch. He thought vaguely of how pretty she was, even when she's covered in dirt and grime. "Trip, you saved my life with this stupid thing. You have nothing to be sorry about." he said gently, her eyes opening to look back up at him.

"I was just so scared, and you weren't waking up, and you've lost so much blood…" she rambled on with a lump in her throat, but Monkey put a hand on her shoulder to silence her.

"I'm fine, Trip. I just need to rest and I'll be alright now that we're safe." he said, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Your safety is what really matters. Are you okay?"

Trip nodded slightly and looked down, falling silent for a few long moments. "Yeah, my leg still hurts, but I don't think it's gotten any worse…" her voice trailed off again, and she backed out of his reach, his arms falling to his sides. She looked up at his face, lit by the Dragonfly hovering above them, and her stomach clenched, thinking of how much pain she'd caused him today.

Monkey was watching her nervously. She'd just backed away from him and the look she was giving him…

"I want to take off your headband."

Her voice was solid, but quiet, and he almost asked her to repeat herself. Instead he just remained silent, waiting for her to keep going.

"Monkey, you could have died today. We both came really close to dying, and…"she looked away, over at something to the left, trying to avoid his eyes. "I put that headband on you because I knew I didn't have a choice; that I wouldn't make it home without your help. That's how I justified enslaving you and putting your life at risk, and I didn't know you back then, but none of that ever made it alright and I knew that." She looked back over at him, meeting his eyes briefly but quickly averting hers down to the angry looking gashes in his side. "I'm not okay with this anymore. I almost costed you your life today, and this isn't right. My life isn't worth more than yours, and my safety isn't the only thing that matters. You did nothing to deserve this. So, I'm deactivating it...and when you're feeling better, you can leave."

Trip fell silent after that, and Monkey didn't say anything right away either, just watching her and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other nervously before lifting her arm and opening up her wrist display for the headband's settings and controls.

She was focusing on the screen when she felt one of Monkey's hands gently grab her elbow, pulling it down so the display closed and her eyes focused on him. He had a serene look about him, and was watching her face closely, making her feel a little uncomfortable, but also very calm.

"Trip, I don't want you to turn off the headband." he said quietly, but clearly. Her eyes widened slightly.

"But Monkey, I-"

"Leave it on." he said again, gently. "I want it to stay on."

Trip looked confused, and Monkey sighed, releasing her elbow and running and hand through his hair. He turned his back to her and took a few steps, pacing slightly, before turning back around and looking at her. She hadn't moved, and was watching him, still confused.

"Trip, I want…" he trailed off and grumbled to himself, turning around and running his hand through his hair again. "I want it to stay on, so I can stay connected with you." he said, turning to look at her again.

She didn't respond right away, but kept looking at him. "Monkey, I don't think I understand...That thing is a slave headband. _Slave._ Why would you want me to keep it on? It's caused you nothing but pain since I got it onto you."

Monkey grumbled again, looking away from her. "Look, I'm not good at this stuff, okay? But I know I don't want you to turn this headband off." He said gruffly, approaching her again so he could be near her. "This thing...it can cause me pain, although tonight was the first time you've used that function since you first put it on me, and it ended up saving my life." He looked her in the eyes, trying to communicate what he might not be able to say properly out loud. "This headband helps me keep you safe, tells me where to go and what's dangerous, it lets me talk to you no matter how far away you are…" his voice trailed off and he found himself reaching for one of her hands, still looking her in the eyes.

Trip's breath hitched when he took her hand in his, running his thumb over the back of her hand gently. _'Is this really happening? Or have I passed out and I'm dreaming again?'_

"Trip, I just…"

A crash shook the ground underneath them, Trip letting out a startled cry and Monkey quickly grabbing hold of her, both of them struggling to maintain their footing. Another loud crash shook the building they were in, some rubble falling from the ceiling and smashing on the floor around them.

"What's happening?!" Trip yelled over the sound of the building falling apart, and Monkey didn't spare the moment to tell her. Grabbing her arm, he raced towards the back of the room, trying to find an exit strategy. "Monkey!" she yelled again, trying to keep up with him.

"They're trying to bring down the building! Bury us alive!" he yelled back, a large piece of the roof crashing down in front of them, causing him to jump back and pull her away from the wreckage. "Is there another way out of here?!"

"Yes, but it's entirely caved in!" she cried over the noise, pointing to the back corner of the room where there was a set of stairs leading up to the next level, but the ceiling had caved it in long ago.

Monkey swore loudly as more rubble fell down around them. "This whole place is going to come down!"

As if on queue, that's exactly what started to happen. The ground shook beneath their feet harder then ever, pieces of the ceiling and the floor above them falling down all around them. Monkey tried to get them to a corner in hopes of avoiding most of the debris, but it couldn't be done in time.

A particularly large piece of rubble broke free above them, Trip screaming his name when she saw it coming. With no time to run, Monkey quickly pushed her to the ground, covering her body with his own just before the rock hit them, knocking the air out of him and trying to crush them both. Trip cried out his name again, seeing the pain he was in trying to hold himself and debris up to avoid crushing her, and he opened his eyes to look at her. She looked terrified, and couldn't pull her eyes away from his, reaching up to cup a hand to his cheek.

They were plunged into darkness as the ground gave out beneath them, Trip screaming and Monkey yelling her name as they fell into the black, more debris and rubble tumbling in after them.


	3. Chapter 3

When Monkey came to, it took him a few minutes before he remembered what had happened. It was almost entirely pitch black, except for the small light his headband gave off. Monkey groaned, lifting an arm to hold his head, which felt like it had ben hit pretty hard during the fall. His memory flooded back to him entirely, a single thought standing out among the rest.

"Trip?" he said, his voice coming out gravelly. Panic surged through him when she didn't respond, and he called her name again, louder. He tried to stand up, but his head swam with dizziness and he was forced to sit down again. _'She's not dead'_ he told himself, looking around with squinted eyes. _'If she were, I would be too.' _He found this thought a lot more reassuring than he would have when he first found himself enslaved.

From what little he could see of his surroundings, Monkey figured they'd fallen down into the sewage and drainage system underneath the building. The ground he was sitting on was damp, and he could smell mold coming from the small puddle of water on his left. His side wound was stinging, and his back felt cut up and bruised from the ceiling caving in on him, but otherwise Monkey couldn't feel any new injuries from the fall, now that his head was leveling out.

Groaning, he stood up again, slower this time. "Trip? Where are you?" he called, his voice bouncing off the debris and hollow tunnels surrounding him. Again, no answer. His chest tightened as he looked around in the darkness, trying to find her. Using his headband, he searched for her signal, turning around on the spot. The headband located her to his right, hidden behind a large chunk of ceiling. Her breathing was slow, indicating that she's unconscious, making the uncomfortable feeling in his chest increase slightly.

Quickly striding over to the rubble, he squeezed in behind it and braced his legs, pushing it away from her with one swift movement. The debris fell to the ground with a loud crash, cracking in half and causing a puff of dust and particles to rise up into the air, making Monkey cough and swat a hand in front of his face.

Once the smoke cleared, he looked down at Trip, assessing her condition. She was laying on her back, out cold, her chest rising and falling slowly. He went to look down at her wounded leg, and felt his chest tighten as he saw that her same leg was now pinned beneath a large metal beam. _'It must have given out and fallen with us…' _he thought, striding over to it and kneeling down, preparing to lift it off her leg.

It was heavy, but Monkey managed to lift the beam and toss it away from her. Kneeling down close to her so his headband's faint light would help him inspect her leg, he could see that the beam hadn't broken the bone, but there was already a giant purple bruise forming below the cut from the car, and her ankle looked like it might be sprained. He breathed deeply, silently thanking the world that the beam hadn't broken her leg, or worse, landed on her head or chest.

He shifted up to look at Trip's face, gently brushing some hair off her forehead. She always looked so peaceful when she slept, her consciousness safe from the world they had to constantly fight to survive in. He gazed at her for a few minutes, enjoying the sound of her breathing, and wishing he could just let her sleep. But he didn't know if they were safe where they were, and he needed to get them out of these rotting tunnels and back up to the surface where they could find food and water.

Shaking her shoulder, he leaned over her and called her name gently. She grumbled under her breath, a hand coming up and trying to swat him away, and he smiled, laughing internally. He continued to shake her shoulder gently and call her name until her eyes came open slowly. Her eyes didn't focus at first, looking around the darkness, and a frown formed on her lips.

"Hey, Trip." Monkey said again, leaning away from her a bit as she looked up at him, squinting at the light coming from his headband. Her eyes finally focused on his, a weak smile forming on her lips.

"Hey Monkey" she said softly, closing her eyes again. He reached over and took one of her hands in his, making her open her eyes and look back at him. "What happened?"

Monkey gave her hand a little squeeze. "The floor collapsed. I think we're in the sewage and drainage tunnels underneath the building." he said gruffly, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb, hesitating. "Trip, I need you to sit up and test your ankle for me. There was a beam that fell and pinned your leg, and it looks like your ankle might be hurt."

She looked confused at first, but quickly nodded and reached out to him. He helped her sit up, putting an arm around her back to support her as she looked down at her leg, although it was dark enough that she could barely make out her foot. She gritted her teeth as she tentatively moved her leg, testing her ankle. "It hurts" she gritted out, laying her leg back down flat on the stone floor.

Monkey nodded grimly. "I thought so." he said with a sigh. Tightening his hold around her back, he lifted her to her feet, still holding her while she stood on her good leg. "Try putting some weight on it. Slowly."

Trip nodded and Monkey looked down, making out her feet in the dim light of his headband. She shifted her weight, gently putting her wounded leg down and testing it, gritting her teeth again in pain. "Monkey, it feels really bad". She brought her foot back up off the ground, balancing on her good leg, and with the help of Monkey's arm.

"Okay, that's okay...Here, sit back down." he said quietly, easing her back to the ground. "Maybe I can carry you out of here...I don't think we're going to be running into any mechs in these tunnels, but we do have to get back to the surface if we want to find any food or clean water…" he trailed off, trying to figure out what to do. Trip remained silent, watching him as he thought. "Hey, where's the Dragonfly? Maybe it can help us find out where we should go."

Trip nodded, reaching for her ear, only to find that it wasn't there. "Oh no…" she muttered, thinking back on what had happened before they were almost buried alive. "I had it flying around the room before...it must have been crushed by something when the floor gave in."

Monkey took his arm from around her back and stood up, stretching his legs. "Is there any way you can locate it with your wrist terminal thing?" he asked, looking around the area.

Trip brought her wrist up and turned on the screen. It lit the area with a green glow, allowing Monkey to get a better feel of their surroundings while she scrolled through windows and tapped buttons. "It has a locator I programed into it...can you see a red light coming from anywhere around here?"

Monkey glanced around, quickly seeing the flashing red light coming from under some wooden debris over in the corner. "Got it" he said, carefully walking over there to avoid stepping on anything harmful. It didn't take him long to dig the Dragonfly out of the wreckage, but when he did, it didn't look good. "It looks like two of its wings were ripped off…" he said quietly, picking up all the pieces he could find and walking back over to Trip. He kneeled down beside her, handing her all the pieces.

She looked them over, her face falling once she assessed the damage. "I don't think I can fix this...It still seems to work, mostly, but unless if I can get these wings back on, it won't be able to fly ahead and help us map these tunnels."

Monkey watched as she fiddled with it some more, talking to herself under her breath and she tried to do what she could for it. A few minutes later she sighed, putting the pieces down onto her lap. "I can't get the wings back on and working without another Dragonfly for parts, and we're not going to find another one of these down here." She picked up the torso of the mechanical bug, gently folding the two remaining wings up and placing it behind her hear where it normally rested. She then opened her computer and tapped some more buttons, closing it when a bright light came from the Dragonfly's eye, nearly blinding Monkey.

"Awe jeez, Trip!" he exclaimed, putting a hand up over his face and squinting.

"Sorry!" she said, turning her face away from him and taking the light with her. Monkey hesitantly put his arm down, looking at her. "I've programmed it to keep this light on as long as it can, but to turn off before it dies completely. Dragonflies and solar powered, but I don't know how long it will last down here without a recharge. We just have to get out of here before we lose our light." she said, looking down at her leg again, this time with the light following her vision.

Monkey followed her eyes, also looking down at her wounded leg and sprained ankle. "I can carry you on my back. My side is feeling better, and that way the light will always be ahead of us." he said, looking back up at her furrowed brows and frown. She looked like she wanted to put up a fight on the matter, but after trying to move her ankle again, she cringed and agreed.

Monkey nodded and helped her to her feet. Once she was balancing on one foot, he quickly turned around and helped her onto his back, making sure she was secure. "You okay?" he asked gently, tightening his hold on her legs so she wouldn't have to squeeze his middle so hard to stay secure.

She didn't respond right away, and he felt her hands on his shoulders tighten slightly. "I'm just not happy with how useless I've been lately. I got us into this whole mess, and when I thought I'd found us a secure place to recover, that ended up backfiring too. Now the Dragonfly is broken and we don't know where we're going and I can't even walk on my own…" she trailed off, her hands tightening even more on his shoulders.

"Trip, stop." his voice came out soft, but firm. "We're in this together, no matter what. Things haven't worked out too well today, but this isn't the first time we've had a bad day, and we always make it through. You did a great job finding us somewhere to hide, and it isn't your fault the mechs were smart enough to figure out the faults in the building and bring it down on us. You've taken a broken piece of mech and fashioned it into a really good light for us, and…" he started walking down the first tunnel he saw, going at a decent pace. "And, we're both alive, and relatively un-hurt, which is amazing given the circumstances."

Trip remained silent, soaking in his words and afraid that he'd stop if she spoke up.

"We're going to make it out of here, and everything is going to be fine. Neither of us is to blame for how hard we have to fight to survive in this world, so we just need to focus our energy into the task at hand."

Trip was silent for a few long moments, soaking in what he'd said to her. Finally she leaned over so her head was parallel to his own, causing the light to move and him to slow his pace slightly. "Monkey...thank you." she whispered, turning her head and placing a soft kiss on his cheek. His breath hitched and he nearly stumbled, but he managed to keep walking. Even when she pulled away, he could still feel where her lips had touched his skin, and he marveled at the feeling. "I needed to hear that, and I'm so relieved you don't hate me for all of this." she whispered, resting her chin on his shoulder, her breath tickling his ear.

Monkey cleared his throat, his cheek still tingling from the kiss. "We're in this together, Trip. I thought I made that clear when I told you to leave the headband on." he said, his voice betraying him, and letting her know how the kiss had affected him.

Trip found herself blushing slightly, grateful that he couldn't see her face. "I still don't agree with keeping it active. I don't want to be responsible for you getting hurt or dying, Monkey. And I don't want you following me around everywhere because you have no choice. It's your life to live, however you want, and I've taken that away from you."

Monkey fell silent, still moving down the same tunnel, but soaking in her words. "Trip…" he whispered, trying to find the words to convey how he was feeling. Monkey had never been big on words, and rarely thought too much before saying what was on his mind, but he found himself really searching for the right words.

Trip kept her head up, lighting the way with her broken Dragonfly, her heart heavy with the knowledge of how much danger she'd put him in since she met him. That had never been her intention, and now that she'd gotten to know him, the more she regretted enslaving him. She'd been feeling like something between them was growing, as of late. Something more then just a need to survive, and to rely on one another to live another day. She knew how she felt about him, without a doubt, but the fact that he was with her out of necessity instead of choice, well...that made her question how he truly felt about her. About his captor.

Monkey cleared his throat again, bringing her attention back to him as he turned a corner in the tunnel, having hit a dead end. "Trip, I'm not just…" he trailed off, grumbling. "I'm not good with words, Trip. Never have been. Since my parents died when I was young and I spent so much of my life alone in the wild, I've never had a need for words, really." he said matter-a-factly.

Trip listened intently, her hands squeezing his shoulders a little tighter.

"What I'm trying to say, Trip, is that it's not just about the headband, anymore." he said, his voice getting quiet near the end. "I mean, even if you turned it off…" he trailed off, coming to a stop in the middle of the tunnel, looking straight ahead. "I wouldn't leave you alone, even if you turned it off and couldn't stop me from leaving."

Trip felt the breath leave her when she heard his words, her heart pounding in her chest. She opened her mouth, but couldn't seem to find words to reply with. _'He wants to...stay with me?'_ she thought, almost not believing she'd understood him correctly. _'Does that mean he…'_

A silence fell over them, and a few moments later Monkey resumed his walk, carrying Trip to what he hoped was the way out of the underground.

* * *

still got another chapter or two to go! this had already gone on way longer than i originally intended...hope none of you mind. :P


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